Thanks to a grant from the foundation “Stichting tot Steun VCVGZ” we can appoint a postdoctoral researcher for 2 years to conduct research with us on the role of interpersonal factors in the course of anxiety and depression. This concerns research with existing data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA, see https://www.nesda.nl). As a postdoc on this project you will work with the longitudinal data of ~1500-2000 participants. To gain insight into interpersonal functioning, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP) and an Implicit Association Test (IAT) were administered to these participants. The aim of the research is to gain insight into how scores on these measures relate to the development, severity, and duration of anxiety and depression. You will analyze the data. This requires circular (directional) statistics. You will write down the results of the four planned sub-studies as scientific publications.

Organisation
The University of Groningen is a research university with a global outlook, deeply rooted in Groningen, City of Talent. Quality has had top priority for four hundred years, and with success: the University is currently in or around the top 100 on several influential ranking lists.

The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences excels in teaching and research in the fields of human behaviour, thinking, learning, and how people live together. We work on societal issues and problems that people experience in daily life. Central to this is individual and societal resilience and how to increase this. To this end, we focus on the topics of migration, the environment and climate, health, upbringing and education, the protection of vulnerable minorities, and sustainable partnerships.The Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences employs over 650 staff members. For more information about the Faculty please check the link https://www.rug.nl/gmw/.

Within the faculty you will work in the Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology unit. The research is led by Dr Marije aan het Rot and Prof. Peter de Jong, affiliated with this unit. Our unit is part of the Department of Psychology. We conduct research on the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders. Our focus is on (transdiagnostic) controllable factors that contribute to the development, existence, or recurrence of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, trauma-related disorders, and prolonged grief. Our research is often (quasi) experimental, involving both patients and analogous groups, or longitudinal, such as in NESDA. In addition, we develop and test new interventions in collaboration with various mental health institutions.

We are looking for candidates who meet the following requirements

- a PhD degree in Clinical Psychology or in Statistics within the Social Sciences (or a related discipline)
- a relevant publication record demonstrating your ability to publish international academic publications
- a clear interest in research that lies on the border of clinical psychology and applied statistics
- excellent verbal and writing skills in English (a good command of the Dutch language is preferred but not required)
- ability to work independently and manage joint research activities
- a team player with strong communication skills
- demonstrable competences as conceptual capacity, environment orientation, presenting, and result orientation
- experience with circular (directional) and Bayesian statistics and data analysis in R or the willingness to specialize in this.

Fixed-term contract: 30 months.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities

- depending on qualifications and work experience, a salary of € 3,226 to a maximum of € 5,090 (salary scale 10) gross per month for a full-time position
- a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance
- attractive secondary terms of employment
- the position is classified in accordance with the University Job Classification (UFO) system; the UFO profile is Researcher 4
- a temporary contract of 1.0 FTE for a period of 2 years or 0.8 FTE for a period of 2.5 years.

Intended starting date: 1 September 2024